Northampton County's "NonPolitical" Controller

Northampton County's Controller is "the official of the County responsible for the internal control of the fiscal transactions of the County." As explained on the the county website, the controller's office is "independent of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government."

In 2007, I questioned whether three-term incumbent John Schimmel could really claim to be "independent" and supported fresh-faced Steve Barron. Although Barron was then a Democratic committeeman, he told me he'd resign that position if he's elected. In fact, he told me it's "unfortunate that such an independent office has to be part of the partisan process." He also told me that a controller who examines a $300 million plus budget annually, needs to be there all day, every day. And he was right. The county has thirty-three different payment locations, and needs a full-time controller for that reason alone. He also pledged he would reach out to Ron Angle who, whatever his flaws, has a formidable understanding of finance. He even told me he would be a regular attendee at Council and Finance Committee meetings.

It hasn't quite worked out that way.

First, Barron has attended portions of only a handful of Council and Committee meetings. He started off gung ho, but lost interest. One thing he did do was get a hefty raise for his solicitor, Tim Brennan.

That's interesting. Brennan has told me he specializes in equine law, but it appears that what he really likes are donkeys. Review of Barron's campaign finance records reveals Brennan contributions of $1,000 in 2008 and $900 in 2009. It certainly looks as though Brennan is paying for his job. And I learned Friday that Brennan is involved heavily in Allentown politics, both as a regular contributor and as treasurer to Council member Peter Schweyer. In May, his lawfirm received $990 from state Democrats for legal services.

If Barron is concerned that his independent office is demeaned by the partisan process, why would he hire a Solicitor whose real legal specialty appears to be partisan politics?

Second, he has never reached out to Angle - even though he lost a bet to him and owes him lunch.

Third, he is only a PT Controller who spends at most 20 hours per week at the courthouse. When he is there, almost all of his time is devoted to political activity.

Fourth, he was warned several months ago that he is too political. It had reached the pioint where members within Stoffa's administration were making comments. Like an idiot, I defended Steve, but called him and warned him about this perception. Instead of cooling it, his poclitical activity intensified. I have pictures of him at numerous political events. Why the hell did he resign from the Dem Committee if he was going to remain so political?

Fifth, when he first decided to make a pitch to keep Gracedale in County hands, I told him he could make whatever argument he wants, but he better have a solution that avoids a tax hike. A few hours later, he called me to say he doesn't. He admitted he would just be pandering if he made a pitch. Yet that's exactly what he did two weeks later. His numbers, not based on any audit, were countered by Fiscal Affairs Director Vic Mazziotti in that very meeting. In reality, the County has a $10 MM hole in next year's budget.

Sixth, anybody can make a mistake, including me. I could be completely wrong about Gracedale. So I would not have been too upset at his Gracedale argument except for two things. Sure, he unnecessarily attacked Angle, but everybody does that. What really bothers me is that a Controller not only involved himself in policy discussions, but had the audacity to accuse Stoffa of keeping information from the public. I'll admit that infuriated me.

Seventh, he's a phony. Instead of manning up and coming to Council to admit he was wrong or to defend his position, he ran away and issued a bullshit statement that the Express Times properly tagged as a "nonapology." His lack of remorse is pretty evident on his Facebook page, where his picture with D'Amore at T-Mobile is still proudly displayed..

So Steve has lost me. He may not be a Long Dem, but he's certainly a long shot if he runs for Controller next year. I've been getting peppered with "I told you so" by many people. Looks like they are right and I was wrong. The authority of his office is derived in large part on the independence of the person who holds it, and he's really damaged that perception.